Mysuru Dasara row: Who is Banu Mushtaq and why is there a row over her opening the festival

For the first time, a book written in the Kannada language received the international honour and Mushtaq is the first Kannada author to receive the prize.

Booker Prize-winning author and activist Banu Mushtaq is at the centre of controversy related to the celebration of the world-famous Mysuru Dasara festivities in Kanataka this year.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has mounted the offensive at the Booker winning author following the Karnataka government's decision to have Mushtaq inaugurate the world-famous Mysuru Dasara festivities ii the state this year.

Senior BJP leaders and an MLA expelled from the saffron party have questioned the decision of the Karnataka government over her faith and participation in the Dasara festival.

Former minister and BJP MLC CT Ravi said it is inappropriate for a person whose faith is uncertain to preside over a religious ceremony.

Former Mysuru MP Pratap Simha said that she can preside over a literary event but not Dasara.

"I personally respect Banu Mushtaq for her achievement. It is acceptable when she chairs the Akhila Bharata Kannada Sahitya Sammelana but not Dasara, a Hindu religious event which starts with offering pooja to Goddess Chamundeshwari. Does she have faith in Chamundeshwari Devi? Is she following our traditions?" Simha said while speaking to reporters in Mysuru on Sunday.

MLA Basanagouda Patil Yatnal, who was expelled from BJP, who represents Vijayapura, said in a post on X, "I personally hold respect for Banu Mushtaq madam as a writer and activist. However, her inaugurating Dasara by offering flowers and lighting the lamp to Goddess Chamundeshwari seems to be in conflict with her own religious beliefs".

He said, "Madam needs to clarify whether she continues to follow Islam, which emphasizes belief in only one God and one holy book, or whether she now believes that all paths ultimately lead to the same moksha." He added that such clarity was essential before she presides over the inaugural rituals.

"Without such clarity, it does not appear appropriate for Banu Mushtaq madam to inaugurate Dasara. She may certainly inaugurate cultural or literary events within Dasara festivities, but the religious inauguration of Dasara itself should be refrained from," Yatnal said, using the hashtag #KarnatakaDasara2025.

Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had recently announced that Banu Mushtaq would inaugurate the Nada Habba (state festival) Dasara celebrations in Mysuru, which traditionally begin with rituals at the Chamundi Hill temple.

Who is Banu Mushtaq?

Banu Mushtaq (77) was awarded the International Booker Prize along with her translator Deepa Bhasthi for her book “Heart Lamp" this year. For the first time, a book written in the Kannada language received the international honour and Mushtaq is the first Kannada author to receive the prize.

While talking about her achievement, Mushtaq said, "This feels like a thousand fireflies lighting a single sky – brief, brilliant and utterly collective."

Mushtaq also known for her advocacy of women's rights and her legal work questioning discrimination against them. The author said that her stories shed light on how religion, society and politics demand unquestioning obedience from women and still, the women have to suffer cruelty at their feet. Her thought process also stemmed from her own experience with submission and discrimination in a patriarchy-dominated world.

Born in a Muslim family, Mushtaq got immense support from her father and started writing at a very early age. She wrote her first story in middle school, but it was not until she was 26 that her story got published popular Kannada magazine Prajamata.

Mushtaq, who now has a celebrated literary career, has often been inspired by the progressive movements in Karnataka. She travelled across states and actively participated in the Bandaya Sahitya movement that challenged cast and class oppression. Her active involvement in the lives of people who struggled laid a strong foundation for her literary works.

She is also the author of six short story collections, a novel, an essay collection and a poetry collection. For her work she has been recognised by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy and the Daana Chintamani Attimabbe awards. Further, her first five short stories have been compiled in one consolidated volume in 2013 called Haseena Matthu Ithara Kathegalu, and in 2023, a compilation called Hennu Haddina Swayamvara (2023).

He book 'Heart Lamp' is a Kannada collection of 12 stories, written over three decades and offers an intimate insight into the lives of Muslim women in South India. The collection more than 30 years, written between 1990 and 2023.

The collection outlines their daily experiences, struggles and how they live within the societal, political and religious frameworks. The collection also speaks of their resilience and struggles with the patriarchal barriers and how their silent rebellions pave way for their freedom. The judges described Heart Lamp as “witty, vivid, colloquial, moving and excoriating.